Calibration and validation of the SWAT model for hydrological simulation in a basin in Western Bahia

Abstract

Hydrological modeling presents itself as a fundamental tool for the management and management of water resources, since it helps to understand the flow of water, sediments and contaminants in a hydrographic basin. The Correntina River basin, located in the western region of Bahia, has been undergoing an intense process of alteration in its landscape motivated by the expansion of agricultural areas in the region, requiring the adoption of instruments for studies that assess the environmental impacts mainly on surface water resources. Thus, the present study aimed to evaluate the effectiveness of the SWAT model for representing the hydrological behavior in the hydrographic basin of the Correntina River, using the SWAT-CUP for automatic calibration and validation. Statistical performance coefficients attested the model's capacity for hydrological simulations in this basin on a monthly time scale, with KGE, Pbias, NSE and R² showing values ​​of 0.69, 0.57, 0.5% and 0.74 in the calibration stage, and 0.73, -3.95 %, 0.64 and 0.76 in the validation step, respectively. In addition, the SWAT was also shown to be suitable for simulating the permanence curves, characterizing the model as a good tool to aid the management of water resources in the basin under study. Subsequent studies will make it possible to analyze the impacts of land use and climate change on the hydrological behavior of the basin under study.

Sensitivity analysis, Calibration and Validation of SWAT model for the Lower Mahanadi River Basin

“…The Table 1. Criteria for evaluating the model'sperformance and their ranges (Ferraz et al, 2021;Musyoka et al, 2021)…”